JP2001277605A - Image output system and method for controlling data transfer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more improve a throughput for printing job data. SOLUTION: When it is judged that a page buffer memory in a RAM 1006 is running short, an image swap control part 1013 makes output image data of the page buffer memory unloaded into a hard disk 1003 within an image output stand-by time. Moreover, it is judged whether or not the output image data unloaded into the hard disk 1003 can be restored to the page buffer memory. The image data are not unloaded if the image data cannot be restored. The image data are unloaded if the image data can be restored. When the unloading completes and the page buffer memory is set free, output image data are generated and stored to the page buffer memory. When the storing the output image data to the page buffer memory completes, the output image data unloaded to the hard disk 1003 are restored to the page buffer memory.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image output system and a data transfer control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a LAN (local area network) has been constructed by interconnecting various peripheral devices such as a multi-function image processing device having a copy function and a fax function as well as a computer and a printer. .

[0003] The LAN as a premises connection such as a floor is
As a user group, shared use of connected devices and data transfer are possible, and several LANs located at geographically separated locations are integrated services digital (ISDN).
In some cases, a WAN (wide area network) is configured by being interconnected by a network), a public telephone line, or the like.

Normally, each LAN or WAN is constituted by a group of computers including a file server and a print server, and functions of a network operating system mounted in each computer include data and file transfer, sharing, and printer operation. It supports various protocols such as sharing. In general, a print job transferred from an application running on each computer can be transferred to a printer on a network via a print server. Furthermore, communication protocols for remotely managing various devices for constructing a network and devices including computers on the network have been standardized. For example, a simple network managment (SNMP) has been standardized.
ement protocol).

[0005] In the case of a network device implementing these protocols, various devices can be managed from a remote location on the network by network management software. For example, in the case of a printer, acquisition of printer information, Status monitoring, notification of status change, initialization control, and the like can be performed.

A LAN is generally composed of a computer and a printer connected by an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable. In recent years, however, a higher speed IEEE1394-1995 (High Performance Serial Bus) has been used.
Network connection of digital devices by this method has also been realized. Devices having an IEEE 1394 serial bus interface have unique IDs, and recognize each other to constitute one network. Each of the devices connected to the network may be configured to be able to independently transmit data to another device without using a computer and to receive data.

[0007] There are various user applications running on each computer constituting the LAN, such as document creation software and spreadsheet software. Data created by using these applications is converted into a printer control language PDL (PrinterDes) by printer driver software as a function of the operating system.
After being converted to cription language) data, the data is temporarily stored in a print spooler as a print job and sent to a printer.

[0008] Here, the print job is processed by the printer driver software in a PDL one-to-one correspondence with the printer.
Data is a unit generated from one or a plurality of application document files to constitute one print document, and is usually separated by a job start command and a job end command. In addition, PD
The type and version information of the L data is added, and is used as discrimination information of the print job processing module when processing is performed by the printer.

In an image output apparatus connected under such a network environment, data is received from a host computer as a data transmission source, and when the data transfer is completed, the transmission side deletes the stored data, and the reception side deletes the stored data. Is configured to reliably execute output processing of received data and then delete it.

The image output apparatus which ensures the output processing of the data transmitted from the data transmission source as described above must hold the image data until the data output is normally completed. In some cases, a hard disk is provided as a storage area. In particular, in the case of an image output device connected to a network, a large amount of output data must be held because it is used by a plurality of users, and therefore, in many cases, the image output device often has a large capacity storage such as a hard disk.

Further, in the printing apparatus, processing of output paper, such as stapling processing for binding a plurality of pages, sorting processing for sorting and outputting a plurality of copies, and bookbinding printing processing in combination with double-sided printing, etc. In some cases, it is necessary to hold all the page data constituting the print job. Therefore, a hard disk is provided as a large-capacity secondary storage device.

[0012]

However, print job data transferred from an information processing apparatus as a data transmission source is stored in a large-capacity hard disk. Read / write speed is RAM (random accessmemor)
It was difficult to apply to a printing device that is slower and faster than y).

Even if a secondary storage device is employed, write and read processing must be executed prior to print processing in order to retain page image data, and processing time such as print job analysis time is required. Will increase. In particular, the first page of a print job simply adds to the access time to the hard disk, compared to storing it in random access memory.
The output time increases more remarkably.

In some cases, a RAM is used to hold print job data transferred from an information processing apparatus which is a data transmission source. However, the RAM is expensive as compared with a secondary storage device, so that the cost of the apparatus is low. Will be up.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image output system and a data transfer control method capable of solving the above-mentioned problems and further improving the processing efficiency of print job data.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving buffer for storing a received print job;
Generating means for generating output image data from the image data in the receiving buffer; and a page buffer memory for storing the output image data generated by the generating means, the page being capable of storing a plurality of pages of output image data. An image output system having a buffer memory;
A secondary storage device, and a memory shortage determination unit that determines whether a memory shortage has occurred in the page buffer memory;
When the memory shortage determination unit makes an affirmative determination, the output image data of the page buffer memory is saved in the secondary storage device within the image output standby time, and the output saved in the secondary storage device is saved. Determining means for determining whether image data can be restored to the page buffer memory; and, when the determination means makes an affirmative determination, outputting the output image data held in the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device. Evacuation means for evacuation, and control means for controlling the generation means to generate output image data to store the image data in the page buffer memory when the evacuation by the evacuation means is completed and the page buffer memory is released. When the storage of the output image data in the page buffer memory is completed by the control of the control means, the secondary storage Characterized in that a restoring means for restoring the output image data which had been saved in location in the page buffer memory.

In a preferred embodiment, the determining means obtains the capacity of the output image data to be saved from the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device, and outputs the output image data having the capacity obtained by the obtaining means. A writing / reading time calculating unit for calculating a time required for writing to the secondary storage device and reading from the secondary storage device; and an image output standby time calculating unit for calculating an image output standby time,
If the write / read time calculated by the write / read time calculation means is smaller than the image output standby time calculated by the image output standby time calculation means, the output image data of the page is written to the secondary storage device. It can be determined that the data can be read from the secondary storage device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to further comprise a deletion unit for deleting the output image data of the secondary storage device when the output of the print job is completed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving buffer for storing a received print job, output image data generating means for generating output image data from image data in the receiving buffer, and output image data generating means. Output system having a page buffer memory for storing the output image data generated by the method and a page buffer memory capable of storing output image data for a plurality of pages, a secondary storage device, and an image output standby time And determining whether or not the output image data of the page buffer memory is saved in the secondary storage device, and whether the output image data saved in the secondary storage device can be restored in the page buffer memory. Means, and when the determination means makes an affirmative determination, the information is held in the page buffer memory. Saving means for saving output image data in the secondary storage device, releasing means for releasing the page buffer memory when the output image data is saved by the saving means, the page buffer memory or the secondary storage When the storage of the output image data in the apparatus is completed, the presence / absence determination means for determining whether or not the output image data related to the next image output exists in the secondary storage device, And a restoring means for restoring the output image data saved in the secondary storage device to the page buffer memory when the judgment is made.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the determining means obtains a capacity of the output image data to be saved from the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device, and outputs the capacity of the output image data obtained by the obtaining means. A writing / reading time calculating unit for calculating a time required for writing to the secondary storage device and reading from the secondary storage device; and an image output standby time calculating unit for calculating an image output standby time. If the write / read time calculated by the read / write time calculation means is smaller than the image output standby time calculated by the image output standby time calculation means, the output image data of the page is written to the secondary storage device. It can be determined that the data can be read from the next storage device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the image processing apparatus may further include a deletion unit for deleting the output image data of the secondary storage device when the output of the print job is completed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving buffer for storing a received print job, and generating means for generating output image data from the image data in the receiving buffer.
A data transfer control method for an image output system, comprising: a page buffer memory for storing output image data generated by said generating means, and a page buffer memory capable of storing output image data for a plurality of pages. A memory shortage determination step for determining whether or not a memory shortage has occurred in the buffer memory; and an affirmative determination in the memory shortage determination step. A determination step of determining whether the output image data saved in the secondary storage device and further saved in the secondary storage device can be restored in the page buffer memory;
If an affirmative determination is made in the determination step, the output image data held in the page buffer
A saving step of saving to the next storage device, and a controlling step of controlling the generating means to generate output image data and storing the image data in the page buffer memory when the saving is completed and the page buffer memory is released. A restoring step of restoring the output image data saved in the secondary storage device to the page buffer memory when the storing of the output image data in the page buffer memory is completed in the control step. It is characterized by.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the determining step includes obtaining an amount of output image data to be saved from the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device, and storing the obtained amount of output image data in the secondary storage device. And an image output standby time calculating step for calculating an image output standby time, and a write / read time calculating step for calculating an image output standby time. If the write / read time calculated in the step (c) is smaller than the image output standby time calculated in the image output standby time calculation step, the output image data of the page is written to the secondary storage device. It can be determined that the data can be read out from the.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the method may further comprise the step of deleting the output image data of the secondary storage device when the output of the print job is completed.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving buffer for storing a received print job, output image data generating means for generating output image data from image data in the receiving buffer, and output image data generating means. A page buffer memory for storing the output image data generated by the method and a page buffer memory capable of storing a plurality of pages of output image data. A determining step of saving the output image data of the page buffer memory in the secondary storage device and determining whether the output image data saved in the secondary storage device can be restored in the page buffer memory; If the determination in the determination step is affirmative, the data is held in the page buffer memory. A saving step for saving the output image data stored in the secondary storage device; a releasing step for releasing the page buffer memory when the output image data is saved in the saving step; A step of determining whether output image data relating to the next image output is present in the secondary storage device when storage of the output image data in the secondary storage device is completed; A restoring step of restoring the output image data saved in the secondary storage device to the page buffer memory when an affirmative judgment is made in the judging step.

In the tenth aspect, the determining step includes an obtaining step of obtaining a capacity of the output image data to be saved from the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device.
A writing / reading time calculating step of calculating a time required for writing the output image data of the capacity acquired in the acquiring step to the secondary storage device and reading the image data from the secondary storage device; and calculating an image output standby time. An image output standby time calculation step, wherein when the write / read time calculated in the write / read time calculation step is smaller than the image output standby time calculated in the image output standby time calculation step, It can be determined that output image data can be written to the secondary storage device and can be read from the secondary storage device.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the method may further comprise the step of deleting the output image data of the secondary storage device when the output of the print job is completed.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
An embodiment will be described. This is an example of a laser beam printer, and its structure is shown in FIG. Note that a printer of another printing method may be used instead of the laser beam printer.

Referring to FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 230 denotes a paper cassette for storing the recording paper S, which has a mechanism for electrically detecting the size of the recording paper S by a partition plate (not shown). A pickup roller 231 intermittently makes one rotation each time paper is fed, and separates only the highest-order recording paper of the recording paper S stored in the paper cassette 230. A recording paper detection sensor 230S detects the amount of the recording paper S stored in the paper cassette 230.

Reference numeral 204 denotes a paper feed roller, which conveys the leading end of the recording paper S separated by the pickup roller 231 to the registration shutter 227. Reference numeral 227 denotes a registration shutter which presses the recording sheet to stop the sheet feeding. Reference numeral 203 denotes a manual feed roller, which conveys the recording paper S placed on the manual feed tray 202 to the registration shutter 227. An optional paper feed roller (paper feed relay conveyance roller) 233 supplies the recording paper S fed from the paper feed option 107 into the main body of the printer 102.

Reference numeral 205 denotes a pair of registration rollers, which are provided downstream of the manual paper feed roller 203, the pickup roller 231, and the optional paper feed roller 233.
Is synchronously conveyed to the image recording unit 207.

Reference numeral 206 denotes a laser scanner unit, which includes a laser unit 215, a polygon mirror 216, a beam detector 217, an imaging lens group 218, and a folding mirror 21.
9 and a light amount sensor 270. Laser unit 2
Reference numeral 15 denotes a laser beam modulated in accordance with an image signal from the video controller 103. The laser light emitted from the laser unit 215 is scanned on the photosensitive drum 220 by the polygon mirror 216 via the imaging lens group 218 and the folding mirror 219, and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 220. Beam detector 21
Reference numeral 7 is for detecting a laser beam from the laser unit 215 and outputting a main scanning synchronization signal. Light intensity sensor 270
Is for detecting the amount of laser light from the laser unit 215.

An image recording unit 207 is provided downstream of the pair of registration rollers 205 and
20, a pre-exposure lamp 221, a primary charger 222,
Developing device 223, cleaner 225, transfer charger 224
And The primary charger 222 charges the photosensitive drum 220 uniformly. The developing unit 223 is charged by the primary charging unit 222, and is used for developing the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 220 by laser exposure by the laser scanner unit 206 with toner. The transfer charger 224 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum developed by the developing device 223 to
The image is transferred onto the recording paper S fed by the registration roller 205. The cleaner 225 is a photosensitive drum 220
This removes the remaining toner. Pre-exposure lamp 2
Reference numeral 21 denotes a member for light-eliminating the photosensitive drum 220.

Reference numeral 208 denotes a fixing device, which is a transfer charger 224.
Is used to thermally fix the toner image transferred to the recording paper S. Reference numeral 210 denotes a transport roller for discharging the recording paper S on which the toner image has been fixed to the outside of the apparatus. 20
Reference numeral 9 denotes a paper discharge sensor, which is a discharge state of the recording paper S, for example,
This is for detecting the occurrence of a paper jam or the occurrence of a misprint. Reference numeral 211 denotes a flapper that switches the conveyance direction of the recording sheet S on which recording has been completed to the discharge tray 213 side or the discharge option 108 side. Reference numerals 214 and 212 denote paper discharge rollers for discharging the recording paper S conveyed by switching the flapper 211 to the stack tray 213. Reference numeral 213 denotes a discharged paper stacking amount detection sensor which detects the stacking amount of the recording paper stacked on the stacking tray 213. Reference numeral 109 denotes a control unit 109.

Reference numeral 107 denotes a paper feed option, which includes a paper deck controller 107a, an operation unit 107b, a paper deck 241, a paper deck paper feed roller 242,
It has a paper feed relay conveyance roller 243 and a conveyance roller 244.

The paper deck 241 is for loading a large amount of recording paper S on a deck that moves up and down. The paper deck feeding roller 242 feeds the recording paper S stacked on the paper deck 241. The transport roller 244 transports the recording paper S fed from the paper deck paper feed roller 242 toward the optional paper feed roller 233. The paper feed relay conveyance roller 243 is used to feed recording paper fed from another paper feeding system optional unit (which can feed recording papers of different sizes or the same size) detachably connectable to a lower portion of the paper deck 241. Carry relay. The recording paper storage amount detection sensor 241s detects the amount of the recording paper S placed on the paper deck 241.
The paper deck controller 107a controls the paper deck option unit 107.

In the discharge option unit 108 such as a finisher option unit, 251 is a first discharge bin, 252 is a second discharge bin, and 253 is a third discharge bin. It is loaded. Reference numeral 260 denotes a bin elevating motor, which is a discharge bin 251.
253 are moved up and down to sort the recording paper S into the respective bins. Reference numeral 254 denotes a flapper, and the printer 1
In accordance with an instruction from the video controller 103, the transport of the recording paper S distributed by the flapper 211 of the main body 02 is performed so that the face of the recording paper is switched according to an instruction from the video controller 103.

Reference numeral 261 denotes a discharged paper stacking amount detection sensor, which is a first discharge bin 25 which is raised and lowered by a bin lifting motor 260.
This is for detecting the stacked amount of recording paper discharged to the first to third discharge bins 253. The discharged paper stacking amount detection sensor 261 is a height sensor, and the height of the recording paper stacked in the first discharge bin 251 to the thirty-eighth discharge bin 253 is, for example, 88 mm.
(Corresponding to about 700 sheets) when it reaches (detects)
When the finisher controller 108a is fully loaded, the video controller 10
3 is notified. When the video controller 103 designates the face-up through the general interface 90, the recording paper S sorted to the flapper 254 is used.
Is sent to the sheet discharge port by the roller 255 as it is. On the other hand, when the video controller 103 designates the face-down operation through the general interface 90, the recording paper S distributed to the flapper 254 is temporarily moved by the rollers 256 and 257 so that the rear end of the recording paper S is
The recording paper S is conveyed until it exceeds 6, and then the roller 257 is reversed and fed from the rear end of the recording sheet S to the roller 258 and sent to the paper discharge port.

Reference numeral 259 denotes a stapler. When the stapler is designated by the video controller 103 through the general interface 90, the recording paper S is stored in a staple tray (not shown), the recording paper S is aligned, and the stapler 259 executes stapling. Then, the paper is discharged to one of the first discharge bin 251 to the third discharge bin 253. The video controller 103 controls the overall interface 90
, The sheets are stored in a staple tray (not shown), the recording sheets S are aligned, and the recording sheets S are shifted with respect to each tray, that is, discharged. After the placement area (tray) of the recording paper S is shifted, the recording paper S is discharged to one of the first discharge bin 251 to the thirty-ninth discharge bin 253.

Reference numeral 259s denotes a staple remaining amount detection sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the staple stored in the staple 259.

The finisher option unit 108 is controlled by a finisher controller 108a. Optional controller unit 106, paper deck controller 107, finisher controller 108
Are connected by connectors and perform serial communication by the option unit interface 70. The vapor deck option unit 107 and the finisher option unit 108 can be connected in the same connection order.

Downstream of the manual paper feed roller 203, the pickup roller 231, and the paper deck paper feed roller 242, a pair of registration rollers 205 for conveying the recording paper S, a paper feed roller 204, and a conveyance roller 244 are provided, respectively. An image recording unit 207 that forms a toner image on the recording paper S by a laser beam from the laser scanner unit 206 is provided downstream of the roller pair 205.

Downstream of the image recording unit 207, there is provided a fixing unit 208 for thermally fixing the toner image transferred onto the recording paper S. Downstream of the fixing unit 208, the conveyance state of the sheet discharging unit is detected. And a flapper 211 for switching the transport direction of the recording paper S on which recording has been completed.

Next, FIG. 1 will be described. In FIG. 1, 1
Reference numeral 02 denotes a laser beam printer to which various optional units can be connected. The laser beam printer is connected to the LAN 302 via a general-purpose interface (for example, a UW interface, Centronics, etc.) and print information (a predetermined printer The recording image is formed based on image information such as character code data, graphic drawing commands, and image data based on the language, and device control information such as paper switching and paper outlet switching.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a video controller, and L
The LAN 302 is connected to the AN 302 via a general-purpose interface.
02, print data (various PDL data, etc.) transferred via a general-purpose interface, generates page information including dot data based on the received print data, and sends the page information to the engine controller 105 via the video interface 80. The image data (binary or multi-valued) is transmitted to the option controller 106 via the general interface 90.

The engine controller 105 performs a known electrophotographic process based on the image data transferred from the video
A latent image is formed thereon, transferred to the supplied recording paper S, fixed, and printed. At this time, an instruction is given to the option controller unit 106 regarding the timing of paper supply and discharge.

An operation unit 104 includes various switches (buttons) for operation and an LED (light emitting diode).
This is an interface with a user including a display, an LCD (liquid crystal display) display, and the like. The user can instruct the laser beam printer 102 to perform a predetermined operation by operating the operation unit 104. Various data set by the user are stored in NVRAM (nonvol
atile RAM) 1013 (FIG. 3).

The option controller unit 106 includes a CPU (central processing unit) (not shown) and a ROM (rea
d only memory), a RAM, and the like, and controls and controls one or more optional units based on a paper supply / discharge designation from the video controller 103 and a paper supply / discharge instruction from the engine controller 105. The communication is performed with an option controller unit provided in the various option units via the option unit interface 70 to control the various option units as a whole.

RAM of option controller 106
Has a shared memory (not shown) that can be accessed by the video controller 103. The shared memory includes a transport status management area for about 40 pages, a basic status area, a command status management area, and the like. The video controller 103 specifies each optional device via each area of the shared memory. The conveyance status management area is printed by the video controller 103 using the printing method (paper feeding port,
An area for notifying each option unit of a paper discharge port, a color, stapling, shifting, and the like, and an area for notifying the video controller 103 of each option state (how much printed, normally completed paper discharge, etc.). You. The basic status area is an area for notifying the video controller 103 of an abnormality of each option unit (paper jam, no paper, staples, etc.). The command / status management area is an area for exchanging command status with the video controller 103.

Reference numeral 107 denotes a paper feed option unit. As the paper feed option unit, for example, there is a paper deck option unit, which has a paper deck controller 107a therein,
The paper feed control is performed on the basis of the control information transmitted from 06. The paper deck controller 107a has a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown). In the ROM, in addition to the program, extended information of the paper feed option unit 107, for example, information of a paper size that can be stored in the paper deck is stored. The CPU controls the paper feed option unit 107 according to a program in the ROM.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a paper discharge option unit. As the paper discharge option unit, for example, there is a finisher option unit having a staple function.
It has a finisher controller 108a inside and performs a stapling operation and a paper discharging operation based on control information from the option controller unit 106.

The finisher controller 108a has a CPU (not shown), a ROM, and a RAM.
The paper discharge option unit 108 is controlled according to the program stored in M. Finisher controller 10
In the ROM in 8a, extended information of the paper discharge option unit 108, for example, the number of paper discharge bins, the presence or absence of the staple function, the presence or absence of the shift function for shifting the paper discharge in a predetermined direction,
Information on the presence / absence of a reversing function for reversing the direction of the face of the discharged paper is stored.

The paper feed option unit 107 and the paper discharge option unit 108 are provided with operation units 107b and 108b having a display unit and various keys, respectively. The operation units 107b and 108b allow the user to use each option. Message and operation method etc.
It can be displayed and operated.

Reference numeral 109 denotes a control unit, which is a printer 1
02, an engine controller 105 for controlling the printing process, a video controller 103 for controlling the entire printer 102, analyzing data from an external device 101 such as a host computer, and converting the data into image data, and integrally controlling various optional units. And an option controller unit 106.

The engine controller 105 controls the electrophotographic process by the laser scanner unit 206, the image recording unit 207, and the fixing unit 208, and
2 controls the recording paper conveyance in the main body. The engine controller 105 can detect a paper conveyance state (paper jam occurrence or the like) in the printer engine main body by the paper discharge sensor 209 and notify the video controller 103 of the detected state.

The option controller unit 106 can communicate with various option units by the same protocol via the option unit interface 70 serving as a common bus. The option controller unit 106 is connected to the video controller 103 via the general interface 90. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the video controller 103 in FIG. The print job is generated as a control language for a printer by an application program operating on the personal computer 300 and stored in a print spooler in the print server 301.

The personal computer 300 and the print server 301 are realized as functions provided by a network operating system. Print server 3
Reference numeral 01 denotes a printer which executes a communication control process via the LAN interface card 304 and the LAN 302 constituting the printer 102 and transfers a print job to the video controller 103.

In a personal computer 303 used by another user, a print job is similarly generated as a control language for a printer by an application program operating on the personal computer 303 and stored in a print spooler in the print server 301. . The print server 301 is the laser beam printer 10
2 LAN interface card 304 and LAN 302
And executes a communication control process to transfer the print job to the video controller 103.

Here, a print job is input in data units delimited by a job start command and a job end command that define a group of input pages, and indicates the group. In some cases, a print job is formed by the video controller 103 autonomously determining the start / end of a job based on input data.

In FIG. 3, reference numerals 104 and 302 denote the same parts as in FIG. The video controller 103 is a CPU 10
01, RAM 1006, ROM 1002, input unit 1012, NVRAM 1013, video swap control unit 1013, storage control unit 1007, option interface 1010, printing unit interface 1008
Are connected to each other via a system bus 1004.

The program ROM of the ROM 1002 includes:
A control program, a job analysis module for analyzing a print job, an image generation module for generating a bitmap image transferred to the printing unit 1009, and the like are stored. The font ROM of the ROM 1002 stores font data (outline font data or dot font data) used when generating an output image.

The CPU 1001 comprehensively controls access to various devices of the video controller 103 according to a control program of the program ROM, and outputs an image signal as output information to the printing unit 1009 via the printing unit interface 1008. Things. Printing unit 10
09 is controlled by the engine controller 105.
Further, a notification such as a paper conveyance status detected in the engine controller 105 is also input via the printing unit interface 1008.

The CPU 1001 communicates with the input unit 1012 and the print server 3 via the LAN interface card 304.
01 can be communicated with. ROM1
The control program of the program ROM 002 is a real-time OS (op
erating system) and a plurality of load modules (tasks) that operate in functional units.

The RAM 1006 functions as a main memory, a work area, a reception buffer, and the like of the CPU 1001, and its memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an extension board (not shown). A RAM 1006 stores a page buffer memory that stores print data input to the input unit 1012 as an intermediate code or an intermediate bitmap image, an image output memory that is temporarily stored when an output bitmap image is output, and a hard disk (HD) ) 1
It is used as a cache memory or the like for temporarily storing registered data such as external characters and form images stored in 003. The RAM 1006 stores the processing status of the paper discharge unit obtained by a paper discharge detection sensor or the like in the paper discharge option unit 108 via the option interface unit 1010,
It is also used as a paper outlet information storage unit for storing the presence / absence of paper stacking for each paper discharging bin, loading amount information, and the like.

The option interface unit 1010 is C
In accordance with an instruction from the PU 1001, communication control with the option controller unit 106 (such as transmission of an instruction command to the option unit and reception of detection information on the paper transport state of the option unit) is performed. A communication signal between the engine interface unit 1008 and the option controller unit 106 may be transmitted to the general interface 90 through.

The storage control unit 1007 includes the hard disk 10
03 is controlled. The hard disk 1003 converts print data input from the host computer 300 into data to be printed or form data into an intermediate code or an output bitmap image, and is used as an output image storage memory stored by the image swap control unit 1013. Also, the hard disk 1003
Is also used as a registration memory for storing registration data transferred from an external character file or form file on the host computer 300.

The number of hard disks 1003 is not limited to one, and one or more hard disks are provided. In addition to built-in fonts, an optional font card and a hard disk storing an emulation program for interpreting a printer control language of a different language (PDL) are stored. Can be connected.

The secondary storage device is not limited to a hard disk, and another secondary storage device may be mounted.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a control program stored in the program ROM of the ROM 1002 shown in FIG. Personal computer 300
When a print instruction is issued from the server, the print server 301 and L
By executing communication control with the AN interface card 304, the generated print job is input to the input unit 1012, and the input print job is temporarily stored in the reception buffer in the RAM 1006 (S401).

Next, it is determined whether or not the output bitmap image can be stored in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 (S402). This determination is made by detecting information on the maximum number of pages permitted to store the output bitmap image and whether the memory of the page buffer memory is insufficient.

If it is determined that the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 is insufficient, the RAM 10
The output bitmap image (previous page image) already held in the page buffer memory 06 is replaced with the image swap unit 1.
013 is saved in the hard disk 1003 (S403).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the page buffer memory can be used, the job analysis module reads the print job in the reception buffer of the RAM 1006 and performs job analysis (PDL interpretation) of the print job.
The image generation module generates a bitmap image and stores it as output bitmap page data in a page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 (S404).

After the job analysis module causes the print position specified by the control code or the like to correspond to the print position, the image generation module stores the output bitmap page data in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006. Until a page end control code such as an instruction is detected, the data is stored in page units as intermediate data of the same page.

When the input output bitmap image for one page is stored in the page buffer memory (S405), the bitmap image to be output is stored in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 by the bitmap image output module. Does not exist, hard disk 10
03 (S406),
The output bitmap image is read from the hard disk 1003 by the intermediate data reading module,
1006 again in the page buffer memory (S4
07).

When the output bitmap image is held in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006, the output bitmap image is read from the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 by the bitmap image output module.
The data is sequentially written to the image output memory in the RAM 1006. Next, a bitmap image is read from the image output memory, output to the engine controller 105 via the printing unit interface 1008, and the output process is terminated (S4).
08).

The engine controller 105 executes printing processing of the transmitted bitmap image by the printing unit 1009.

When the transfer output of the bitmap image to the engine controller 105 is completed, the engine controller 1 obtained through the printing unit interface 1008
05 processing status or optional interface 1
Option controller 106 obtained via 010
That is, it is determined whether or not the recording paper S has been printed normally without occurrence of a paper jam or misprint, and if the printing processing has been completed normally, the RAM 1006
Then, the page buffer memory inside is released (S409).

When the output processing of one page is completed, the processing from S401 to S4 is continued until the print job is completed.
Repeat 10

When the output of the print job is completed, the output bitmap image data in the hard disk 1003 is deleted by the output bitmap deletion module in the image swap control unit 1013, and thereafter, the processing of the print job is ended. (S411).

FIG. 5 shows the image swap control unit 1013 of FIG.
Is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure according to FIG. When it is determined that the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 for holding the output bitmap image is insufficient (S402 in FIG. 4), the execution of this processing is started. The image storage determination module of the image swap control unit
The data capacity of the bitmap image of the last page (previous page) to be output of the output bitmap image held in the page buffer memory in M1006 is acquired (S5).
01), the storage time for storing the bitmap image in the hard disk 1003 is calculated from the acquired data capacity (S502). Next, a read time for reading a bitmap image from the hard disk 1003 is calculated from the acquired data capacity (S503).

In calculating the time in S502 and S503, the reference write time and the reference read time per unit data amount of the hard disk 1003, for example, per 1 MByte are stored in the ROM 1002.

[0083]

(Image data capacity / 1 MByte) × (Reference writing time) = HD storage time (Image data capacity / 1 MByte) × (Reference reading time)
= HD readout time.

The image determination module of the image swap control unit 1013 determines that the last page to be output is the ROM 100
Then, an image output standby time until the image output module in No. 2 is transferred to the engine controller 105 is calculated (S504).

The calculation of the image output standby time is performed by the RAM 100
6 and the maximum printing speed (ppm: page per minute) at which the printing unit 1009 can output the recording paper S.

For example, in the output page image held in the page buffer memory of the RAM 1006, the image output module at the time of the determination starts with the engine controller 10 based on the page number (the last page) to be determined.
5 by subtracting the page number output to
It is possible to calculate the total number of pages to be output and held in the page buffer memory in M1006.

The printing unit 10 of the laser beam printer 102
09 stores the maximum printing speed information at which the recording paper S can be output, for example, 30 ppm stores information such that 30 pages can be printed per minute, so that an output time of 2 seconds / page is required.

From these two pieces of information,

[0089]

## EQU2 ## The output bitmap image to be determined is printed by the printing unit 1 using an expression such as (number of pages to be output) × (output time per page) = output standby time.
By means of 009, the standby time until printing is actually performed can be calculated.

More precisely, information such as whether double-sided printing is instructed or the number of copies is instructed is stored in the RAM.
By storing it as output information of the output bitmap image held in the page buffer memory in 1006, a reliable output standby time can be calculated by taking into account the above equation.

From the three times obtained in this way,
The image storage determination module in the image swap control unit 1013 determines whether to store the last output bitmap image page held in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 in the hard disk 1003 (S50).
5). And

[0092]

[Expression 3] If output standby time ≧ HD storage time + HD read time, it is determined that the data should be stored in the hard disk 1003, and the output bitmap is stored in the hard disk 1003 by the intermediate data storage module in the image swap control unit 1013. (S506). After the storage is completed, the image swap control unit 1013 releases the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 that has stored the output bitmap (S507).

Here, when the page buffer memory of the RAM 1006 is released, it is determined that the page buffer memory is not in a shortage state (S402 in FIG. 4), and the analysis processing of the subsequent print job can be resumed. On the other hand,

[0094]

## EQU4 ## If the output standby time is shorter than the HD storage time + HD read time (S505), the storage processing to the hard disk 1003 is executed, and the engine controller 105
The start time of the output execution process (S408 in FIG. 4) is delayed, and the performance is degraded. Therefore, the data is not stored in the hard disk 1003. In this case, the execution of the analysis processing of the subsequent print job is in a standby state until the output processing of the page image held in the page buffer memory (S408 in FIG. 4) is executed.

In the processing modules of S401 to S411, the intermediate page data generation processing task (S401 to S411)
405) and a bitmap image output task (S406-
S410), the task is divided so that parallel processing is possible.

In S501, an example has been described in which the image storage determination processing is performed only on the output bitmap image of the previous page. However, the pages held in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 are sequentially determined as storage targets, and possible. As many page images as possible may be stored in the hard disk 1003. With this configuration, the RAM
The page buffer memory in 1006 can be used more effectively.

The output bitmap image is stored in the RAM 10
When the data is stored in the page buffer memory 06, the data may be compressed and stored by a compression module (not shown). In this case, when the image output module in the ROM 1002 executes the output, when the bitmap image is temporarily stored in the image output memory in the RAM 1006, it is expanded and stored by an expansion module (not shown). With this configuration, the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 can be more effectively utilized.

Although the determination processing in S402 or an example in which only the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 is targeted has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that the image swap control unit 1013 is activated when a paper jam or a paper shortage in the printing unit 1009 occurs. In this case, the output standby time in S504 is calculated to be infinite, and the image storage processing is executed in the image storage determination processing in S505.

Next, the processing procedure of a print job will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. Here, the image generation processing unit is P
This is a processing task in which a print job such as DL data is analyzed by a job analysis module in the ROM 1002, and an output bitmap image is generated by an image generation module in the ROM 1002. The image storage determination module, the output bitmap image storage module, and the output bitmap image readout module in the image swap control unit 1013 also operate in the image generation processing task. Also, RAM 1006
From the page buffer memory in the hard disk 1003
After the image is stored in the task, the deletion module that deletes (releases) the page buffer memory may also operate in this task.

The image reading processing unit is an output bitmap image reading module in the image swap control unit 1013, and is a process for reading the output bitmap image stored in the hard disk 1003 into the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006. The image output processing unit outputs R to the printing unit 1009 of the generated output bitmap image.
This is a processing task in which the image output module in the OM 1002 operates. After the output is completed, the image deletion processing unit
This is a processing module that deletes the output bitmap image stored in the page buffer memory in M1006 and releases the memory.

Now, the image generation processing unit in the ROM 1002 sequentially generates page 1, page 2, page 3 and output bitmap images, and stores them in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006. Then, the image storage determination module of the image swap control unit 1013

[0102]

It is determined whether or not p3-wt ≧ p3-t1 + p3-t2 (see FIGS. 6B and 6C). Here, p3-t1 is the HD storage time of page 3, p3-t2 is the HD read time of page 3, and p3-wt is the page 3 output standby time.

When the image storage determination module of the image swap control unit 1013 makes a positive determination, the RAM 100
Page 3 stored in page buffer memory 6
Is saved on the hard disk 1003, and the page buffer memory of page 3 is released.

When the page buffer memory of page 3 is released, the job analysis module and the image generation module in the ROM 1002 start the image generation processing of page 4 and store the output bitmap image of page 4 in the released page buffer memory. Is stored (see FIG. 6B).

When the output bitmap image of page 4 is stored in the page buffer memory, the bitmap image output module determines that the bitmap image of page 3 to be output does not exist in the page buffer memory of RAM 1006,
In addition, it is determined whether or not the data is stored in the hard disk 1003. If the determination is affirmative, the intermediate data reading module reads the output bitmap image of page 3 from the hard disk 1003 (FIG. 6C).
), And restore to the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006.

Thereafter, the bitmap image output module reads the output bitmap image of page 3 from the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006, and
Is sequentially written to the image output memory in the section. Next, the bitmap image is read from the image output memory, and the engine controller 105 is read via the printing unit interface 1008.
, And the engine controller 105 executes printing processing of the transmitted bitmap image by the printing unit 1009 (see FIG. 6D). Then, the transfer output of the bitmap image to the engine controller 105 ends,
After that, if the printing process is normally completed, the RAM 100
Release the page buffer memory in 6.

When the output of the print job is completed, the output bitmap deletion module in the image swap control unit 1013 deletes the output bitmap image data in the hard disk 1003, and thereafter ends the print job processing. (See FIG. 6E).

If the page buffer memory shortage occurs again after the output bitmap image of page 4 is generated, the image storage determination module

[0109]

It is determined whether or not p4-wt ≧ p4-t1 + p4-t2. Here, p4-t1 is the HD storage time of page 4, p4-t2 is the HD read time of page 4, and p4-wt is the output standby time of page 4.

When the image storage determination module makes a positive determination, the output bitmap image of page 4 stored in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 is saved on the hard disk 1003, and the page buffer memory of page 4 is released.

When the page buffer memory of the page 4 is released, the job analysis module and the image generation module in the ROM 1002 start the image generation processing of the page 5, and output the page 5 to the released page buffer memory. Stores a bitmap image.

The subsequent processing procedure for the output bitmap image of page 4 is essentially the same as that for the output bitmap image of page 3, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The output time interval per page calculated from the printing speed (ppm) information of the printing apparatus is s,
On every page of the print job,

[0114]

## EQU7 ## If the image generation time for one page is <s, the image output is performed at the maximum speed of the printing unit 1009.

As described above, since the page buffer memory can be reused immediately, it is possible to prevent the image generation processing task from being in a standby state even if the page buffer memory shortage occurs. Further, since the standby time of the image generation processing unit is eliminated, the image generation processing can be performed without being affected by the output processing.

When the memory shortage described above occurs, according to the conventional image generation processing unit, as shown in FIG. 6A, until the image output processing of page 1 is completed and the page buffer memory is released. Thus, the standby state of the print job analysis and generation processing lasts for tl time. When the page 4 is generated, a standby state for a time t2 occurs until the image output processing of the page 2 is completed.

Next, the conventional processing procedure will be described with reference to FIG. 7 in order to clarify the difference between the processing procedure in the present embodiment and the conventional processing procedure. Here, the conventional image generation processing unit is a processing task of praying a print job such as PDL data by a job analysis module and generating an output bitmap image by the image generation module. The conventional image output processing unit is a processing task in which an image output module that outputs the generated output bitmap image to the printing unit 1009 operates. The conventional image deletion processing unit is a processing module that deletes the output bitmap image stored in the page buffer memory and releases the memory after the output is completed.

Now, in the same manner as described above, page 1,
Output bitmap images are sequentially generated as 2, 3, and
Storing in the page buffer memory such as 006, it is assumed that the page buffer memory shortage occurs after the page 3 is stored. When a memory shortage occurs, the standby state of the analysis and generation processing of the print job continues for tl time until the image output processing of page 1 is completed and the page buffer memory is released.

Then, after the elapse of the tl time, the page 1
Is completed, the image generation processing of page 4 is restarted, and the image of page 4 is stored in the released page buffer memory. When the page 4 is generated, a waiting state for a time t2 occurs similarly until the image output processing of the page 2 is completed. After the output of the page 4 is completed and the page buffer memory is released, the image of the page 5 is generated. The generation process is restarted, and the image of page 5 is stored in the released page buffer memory.

As described above, the image generation processing is executed by using the page buffer memory as a ring buffer for each page. However, if the page buffer memory becomes insufficient, the image generation processing task will be in a standby state. Also,

[0121]

[Formula 8] When the image generation time> the output interval time of each page, the performance of the print processing itself of the printing unit 1009 has deteriorated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a laser beam printer has been described. However, as long as the functions of the present invention are executed, even if a single device is used, a plurality of devices can be used. It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a system in which processing is performed via a network such as a LAN or the like.

Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is implemented by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, the storage medium storing the program according to the present invention constitutes the present invention. Then, by reading the program from the storage medium to the system or the device, the system or the device functions in a specific mode.

<Second Embodiment> The present embodiment relates to the first embodiment.
The processing procedure is different in comparison with the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which R shown in FIG.
9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image generation processing program stored in a program ROM of the OM 1002.
When there is a print instruction from the personal computer 300,
The generated print job is transmitted from the print server 301 to the LAN.
The communication control with the interface card 304 is executed, input to the input unit 1012, and temporarily stored in the reception buffer of the RAM 1006 (S801). The stored print job (PDL data in which a control code or a character code indicating a print position is described) is read by a job analysis module in the ROM 1002, and the job analysis (P
DL interpretation), a bitmap image is generated by an image generation module in the ROM 1002, and the RAM 100
6 is stored as output bitmap page data in the page buffer memory (S802).

The job analysis module stores the output bitmap page data in the page buffer memory in the RNM 1006 after making the job analysis module correspond to the print position specified by the control code or the like. Until a page end control code such as is detected, the data is stored in page units as intermediate data of the same page.

When the analysis processing for the input one page is completed and the output bitmap image is stored in the page buffer memory (S803), the image storage determination module of the image swap control unit 1013 operates the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006. The data capacity of the output bitmap image generated in the storage device is acquired (S804), and the storage time for storing the bitmap image in the hard disk 1003 is calculated from the acquired data capacity (S805).

Further, a read time for reading a bitmap image from the hard disk 1003 is calculated from the obtained data capacity (S806). This read time calculation

[0129]

(Image data capacity / 1 MByte) × (Reference writing time) = HD storage time (Image data capacity / 1 MByte) × (Reference reading time)
= HD readout time.

The image storage determination module of the image swap control unit 1013 stores the generated page in the ROM 1002
An image output standby time until the image output module is transferred to the engine controller 105 is calculated (S807). The calculation of the image output standby time is performed in the RAM
The total number of pages to be output prior to the page being held in the page buffer memory in 1006 and the printing unit 100
9 is the maximum printing speed at which the recording paper S can be output (ppm)
And can be determined by:

From these two pieces of information,

[0132]

The output bitmap image generated by the equation (number of pages to be output) × (output time per page) = output standby time is printed by the printing unit 10.
In step 09, a standby time until printing is actually performed is calculated.

From the three times thus obtained,
The output bitmap image page generated by the image storage determination module in the image swap control unit 1013 in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 is stored in the hard disk 10.
03 is determined (S808).

[0134]

[Equation 11] Output standby time ≧ HD storage time + HD
If it is the read time (S808), it is determined that the output bitmap image should be stored in the hard disk 1003, and the output bitmap image is stored in the hard disk 1013 by the intermediate data storage module in the image swap control unit 1013 (S809).

After storage is completed, the image swap control unit 1013
Releases the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 that has stored the output bitmap (S810).

Here, by releasing the page buffer memory of the RAM 1006, the analysis process of the subsequent print job can be resumed without waiting for the completion of the printing process in the printing unit 1009. On the other hand,

[0137]

[Expression 12] Output standby time <HD storage time + HD
If the time is the read time (S808), execution of the process of storing the data in the hard disk 1003 will delay the start time of the process of executing the output to the engine controller 105 (S408), deteriorating the performance. Is not performed. In this case, the execution of the analysis processing of the subsequent print job is in a standby state until the output processing of the page image held in the page buffer memory is executed.

When the output processing of one page is completed in this manner, steps S801 to S8 are performed until the print job is completed.
Repeat step 11.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which R shown in FIG.
11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image output processing program stored in a program ROM of the OM 1002.
The image generation module in the ROM 1002 determines that the output bitmap image for one page to be output has been completely stored in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 or the intermediate page image storage area in the hard disk 1003 by the image generation processing task. Then (S901), RO
The bitmap image output module in M1002 determines whether the bitmap image to be output does not exist in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 and is stored in the hard disk 1003 (S902). If the determination is affirmative, the intermediate data reading module in the image swap control unit 1013 causes the hard disk 10
Read out the output bitmap image stored in 03,
The data is stored again in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 (S903).

As described above, when the output bitmap image is held in the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006, the bitmap image output module in the ROM 1002 reads the output bitmap image from the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006, and Then, the bitmap image is sequentially written to the image output memory, and the bitmap image is output from the image output memory to the engine controller 105 via the printing unit interface 1008, and the output process ends (S904). The engine controller 105 transmits the transmitted bitmap image to the printing unit 10.
09 to execute the printing process.

When the transfer output of the bitmap image to the engine controller 105 is completed, the engine controller 1 obtained via the printing unit interface 1008
05 processing status or optional interface 1
Option controller 106 obtained via 010
The processing status, that is, whether or not the recording paper S has been printed normally without occurrence of a paper jam or misprinting is determined, and when the printing processing is normally completed, the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 is released ( S905).

When the output processing for one page is completed, steps S901 to S906 are repeated until there is no more bitmap image to be output.

If the output of the print job is completed (S9
06), the output bitmap deletion module in the image swap control unit 1013 causes the hard disk 1003
Is deleted, and the processing of the print job is terminated (S907).

The above-described image generation processing task and image output processing task are divided into tasks, and are configured so that parallel processing can be performed while maintaining synchronization.

The output bitmap image is stored in the RAM 10
When the data is stored in the page buffer memory 06, the data may be compressed and stored by a compression module (not shown). In this case, when the image output module in the ROM 1002 executes the output, when the bitmap image is temporarily stored in the image output memory in the RAM 1006, it is expanded and stored by an expansion module (not shown). With this configuration, the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 can be more effectively utilized.

In the image storage determination processing in S808, for example, if a paper jam or a paper out of the printing unit 1009 occurs, the image output processing task is in a stopped state. Is set to be infinite, and in the image storage determination process of S808, the image storage process is always executed.

Next, the print job processing procedure will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. Here, the image generation processing unit is P
This is a processing task in which a print job such as DL data is analyzed by a job analysis module in the ROM 1002, and an output bitmap image is generated by an image generation module in the ROM 1002. The image storage determination module and the output bitmap image storage module in the image swap control unit 1013 operate in the image generation processing task, and store or read out the generated output bitmap image on the hard disk 1003. Further, a deletion module that deletes (releases) the page buffer memory after storing the output bitmap image from the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006 to the hard disk 1003 may also operate in this task.

The image reading processing unit is an output bitmap image reading module in the image swap control unit 1013, and is a process for reading the output bitmap image stored in the hard disk 1003 into the page buffer memory in the RAM 1006. This processing is started by the image output processing unit, and the reading is executed prior to the image generation processing task. The image output processing unit is a ROM 1 that outputs the generated output bitmap image to the printing unit 1009.
002 is a processing task in which the image output module operates. After the output is completed, the image deletion processing unit
This processing module deletes the output bitmap image stored in the page buffer memory in No. 06 and releases the memory.

First, when the output bitmap image of page 1 which is the first page of the print job is generated by the image generation processing unit in ROM 1002, the generated output bitmap image is stored in the page buffer memory in RAM 1006. You. However, although it takes time to execute the output, the output waiting time p1-wt does not substantially exist, so the output waiting time of the first page is usually set unless the previous print job has been completed. , And zero, and the image storage determination module determines that the image is not always stored in the hard disk 1003. Therefore, the output bitmap image is not stored in the hard disk (FIG. 10B,
(D)).

Next, when an output bitmap image of page 2 is generated, the generated output bitmap image is R
It is stored in the page buffer memory in the AM 1006.
Then, an image output standby time p2-wt until transfer to the engine controller 105 by the image output module in the ROM 1002 is calculated. And in this case,

[0151]

[Expression 13] Output standby time <HD storage time + HD
Therefore, when the storage processing to the hard disk 1003 is performed, the start time of the output execution processing to the engine controller 105 is delayed, and the performance is deteriorated. Therefore, the image storage determination in the image swap control unit 1013 is performed. The module determines that the data is not stored in the hard disk 1003. Therefore, the output bitmap image is not stored in the hard disk (FIG. 10).
(See (b) and (d)).

When the output bitmap image of page 3 is generated, the image storage determination module of the image swap control unit 1013 uses

[0153]

It is determined whether p3-wt ≧ p3-t1 + p3-t2. Here, p3-wt is the output standby time of page 3, p3-t1 is the HD storage time of page 3, and p3-t2 is the HD read time of page 3.

In this case, an affirmative decision is made and the RAM 1006
The output bitmap image of page 3 stored in the page buffer memory is stored in the hard disk 1003, and the page buffer memory of page 3 is released.

When the page buffer memory of page 3 is released, it is reused by the job analysis module and the image generation module in the ROM 1002 for the subsequent image generation processing.

Thereafter, when an output bitmap image of page 4 is generated, the image storage determination module is activated, and

[0157]

It is determined whether or not p4-wt ≧ p4-t1 + p4-t2. However, p4-t1 is the HD of page 4
The storage time, p4-t2 is the HD read time of page 4, and p4-wt is the output standby time of page 4.

In this case as well, an affirmative decision is made and the RAM 100
The output bitmap image of page 4 stored in the page buffer memory of No. 6 is stored in the hard disk 1003, and the page buffer memory of page 4 is released. The released page buffer memory is reused in the subsequent image generation processing unit.

Next, a conventional processing procedure will be described with reference to FIG. 11 in order to clarify the difference between the processing procedure in the present embodiment and the conventional processing procedure. The conventional image generation processing unit is a processing task of analyzing a print job such as PDL data by a job analysis module, generating an output bitmap image by the image generation module, and storing the output bitmap image on a hard disk. The conventional image output processing unit is a processing task in which an image output module that reads an output bitmap image stored in the hard disk 1003 and outputs the read output bitmap image to the printing unit 1009 operates. The conventional image deletion processing unit is a processing module that deletes the output bitmap image stored in the page storage area in the hard disk 1003 after the output is completed.

Output bitmap images of pages 1, 2, 3, and 4 are sequentially stored in RAM 1 by a conventional image generation processing unit.
006 generated in the work memory, etc.
003 is stored in the page storage area. The output bitmap image stored in the hard disk 1003 is sequentially read out by the conventional image output processing unit, and
09 and print processing is executed. When the printing process is completed normally, the hard disk 1003
Are deleted by the image deletion processing module.

As described above, in the image generation processing and the image output processing, the output bitmap image is stored in the hard disk 1003, and the reading is executed by the sequential processing, so that the processing time is increased.

[0162]

## EQU16 ## The case where the image generation time> the output interval time of each page increases, and the performance of the printing process itself of the printing unit 1009 has deteriorated.

As described above, in this embodiment, the page buffer memory can be immediately reused while compensating for the problem of the secondary storage device which is slower than the RAM so as not to affect the output processing time. The image generation processing and output processing of all pages of the print job can be prevented from deteriorating in performance when the secondary storage memory is used, and the RAM 1006 can be effectively used, so that the image generation processing task can be operated to the maximum. It is possible to do.

[0164]

As described above, according to the present invention,
With the configuration described above, the processing efficiency of print job data can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of the laser beam printer 102 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a video controller 103 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows the ROM 100 of FIG. 3 in the first embodiment;
9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control program stored in a second program ROM.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure by an image swap control unit in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing each processing timing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing each processing timing of a conventional example.

FIG. 8 shows the ROM 100 of FIG. 3 in the second embodiment.
9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control program stored in a second program ROM.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an image output processing task.

FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing each processing timing in the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing each processing timing of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 102 printer 103 video controller 104 operation unit 105 engine controller 106 option controller 107 paper feed option unit 108 paper ejection option unit 300 personal computer 301 print server 302 LAN 303 personal computer 304 LAN interface card 1001 CPU 1002 ROM 1003 hard disk 1004 system bus 1005 NVRAM 1006 RAM 1008 printing unit interface 1009 printing unit 1010 option interface 1011 paper discharge unit unit 1013 image swap control unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C087 AB05 AC08 BC02 BC05 BC06 BC14 BD41 5B021 AA01 BB01 BB04 CC02 DD09 DD10 9A001 BB03 BB04 BB06 CC02 CZ08 DZ15 JJ27 JJ35 KK42

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A receiving buffer for storing a received print job, generating means for generating output image data from image data in the receiving buffer, and storing output image data generated by the generating means. An image output system having a page buffer memory capable of storing output image data for a plurality of pages, the secondary storage device; and determining whether a memory shortage has occurred in the page buffer memory. A memory shortage determination unit that performs an affirmative determination by the memory shortage determination unit to save the output image data of the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device within an image output standby time; Judgment to judge whether output image data saved in a storage device can be restored in the page buffer memory Means for outputting the output image data held in the page buffer memory when the determination means makes a positive determination.
Evacuation means for evacuation in the next storage device; and when the evacuation by the evacuation means is completed and the page buffer memory is released, the generation means is controlled to generate output image data and store it in the page buffer memory. Control means, and when the storage of the output image data in the page buffer memory is completed by the control of the control means,
A restoring means for restoring output image data saved in the next storage device to the page buffer memory. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit obtains a capacity of the output image data to be saved from the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device, and outputs the capacity obtained by the obtaining unit. A write / read time calculating unit for calculating a time required for writing image data to the secondary storage device and reading the image data from the secondary storage device; and an image output standby time calculating unit for calculating an image output standby time. When the write / read time calculated by the write / read time calculation means is smaller than the image output standby time calculated by the image output standby time calculation means, the output image data of the page is stored in the secondary storage device. An image output system, which determines that writing is possible from the secondary storage device. 3. The image output system according to claim 1, further comprising a deletion unit that deletes the output image data of the secondary storage device when the output of the print job is completed. 4. A receiving buffer for storing a received print job, output image data generating means for generating output image data from the image data in the receiving buffer, and an output generated by the output image data generating means. An image output system having a page buffer memory for storing image data and a page buffer memory capable of storing output image data for a plurality of pages, comprising: a secondary storage device; The output image data of the buffer memory is saved in the secondary storage device, and
Determining means for determining whether the output image data saved in the secondary storage device can be restored in the page buffer memory; and when the determination means makes a positive determination, the output image data is held in the page buffer memory. Output image data
Evacuation means for evacuation in the next storage device, and when the output image data is evacuation by the evacuation means,
Releasing means for releasing the page buffer memory; and when output image data is completely stored in the page buffer memory or the secondary storage device, output image data related to the next image output is stored in the secondary storage device. Presence / absence determination means for determining whether or not the output image data is stored in the secondary storage device, and restore means for restoring the output image data saved in the secondary storage device to the page buffer memory when the presence / absence determination means makes an affirmative determination. An image output system comprising: 5. The image processing device according to claim 4, wherein the determining unit obtains a capacity of the output image data to be saved from the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device, and outputs the capacity obtained by the obtaining unit. A writing / reading time calculating unit for calculating a time required for writing image data to the secondary storage device and reading the image data from the secondary storage device; and an image output standby time calculating unit for calculating an image output standby time. When the write / read time calculated by the write / read time calculation means is smaller than the image output standby time calculated by the image output standby time calculation means, the output image data of the page is stored in the secondary storage device. An image output system, which determines that writing is possible from the secondary storage device. 6. The image output system according to claim 4, further comprising a deletion unit that deletes the output image data of the secondary storage device when the output of the print job is completed. 7. A receiving buffer for storing a received print job, generating means for generating output image data from image data in the receiving buffer, and storing output image data generated by the generating means. A data transfer control method for an image output system having a page buffer memory capable of storing output image data for a plurality of pages, wherein it is determined whether the page buffer memory has run out of memory. When the affirmative determination is made in the memory shortage determination step and the memory shortage determination step, the output image data of the page buffer memory is evacuated to the secondary storage device within the image output standby time.
A determining step of determining whether or not the output image data saved in the next storage device can be restored in the page buffer memory; and an affirmative determination in the determining step, the output image held in the page buffer memory. Data
A saving step for saving to the next storage device; and a controlling step for, when saving and ending the page buffer memory, controlling the generating means to generate output image data and store the output image data in the page buffer memory; A restoring step of restoring the output image data saved in the secondary storage device to the page buffer memory when the storing of the output image data in the page buffer memory is completed in the control step. A data transfer control method. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the determining step includes: obtaining an amount of output image data to be saved from the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device; A write / read time calculating step for calculating a time required for writing to the secondary storage device and reading from the secondary storage device; and an image output standby time calculating step for calculating an image output standby time. If the write / read time calculated in the time calculation step is smaller than the image output standby time calculated in the image output standby time calculation step, the output image data of the page is written to the secondary storage device. A data transfer control method comprising determining that data can be read from a next storage device. 9. The data transfer control method according to claim 7, further comprising a deletion step of deleting the output image data of the secondary storage device when the output of the print job is completed. 10. A receiving buffer for storing a received print job, output image data generating means for generating output image data from image data in the receiving buffer,
A data transfer control method for an image output system, comprising: a page buffer memory for storing output image data generated by said output image data generating means, and a page buffer memory capable of storing a plurality of pages of output image data. Saving the output image data of the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device within the image output standby time,
A judging step of judging whether or not the output image data saved in the secondary storage device can be restored in the page buffer memory, and if the judgment result is affirmative, the output image data is held in the page buffer memory. Output image data
A saving step for saving in the next storage device, a releasing step for releasing the page buffer memory when the output image data is saved in the saving step, an output image to the page buffer memory or the secondary storage device When the data storage is completed, the presence / absence determination step of determining whether or not output image data related to the next image output exists in the secondary storage device; Restoring the output image data saved in the secondary storage device to the page buffer memory. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the determining step includes: obtaining an amount of output image data to be saved from the page buffer memory to the secondary storage device; and outputting the capacity obtained in the obtaining step. A writing / reading time calculating step for calculating a time required for writing image data to the secondary storage device and reading the image data from the secondary storage device; and an image output standby time calculating step for calculating an image output standby time. If the write / read time calculated in the write / read time calculation step is smaller than the image output standby time calculated in the image output wait time calculation step, the output image data of the page is stored in the secondary storage device. A data transfer control method comprising: determining that data can be read from the secondary storage device. 12. The data transfer control method according to claim 10, further comprising a deletion step of deleting output image data of said secondary storage device when output of a print job is completed.